A new study that looks at parking in five U.S. cities—New York, Philadelphia, Seattle, Des Moines, and Jackson, Wyoming—quantifies the amount of parking capacity and estimates the cost to communities.
Parking density per acre ranges from about 10 spots in New York to 53.8 in Jackson. The two smaller communities, Des Moines and Jackson, have a lot more parking spots per household—19 and 27 respectively—than the larger, more densely populated cities. By comparison, New York has 0.6 spots per household.
To get a handle on the cost of all that parking, the study includes the cost to replace existing capacity. This cost, when calculated by household, ranges from $6,570 per spot in New York to a whopping $192,138 in Jackson.
“America devotes far too many of its precious resources to parking,” writes Richard Florida in a post at City Lab. He points out that driving seems to be in decline. The share of Seattle households with a car is falling for the first time in at least 40 years, and the percentage of U.S. high school seniors with a driver’s license is down from 85.3% in 1996 to 71.5% in 2015. What’s more, ride-sharing is gaining popularity. Florida argues that some of the space devoted to parking would be better utilized for housing and other uses.
Related Stories
Codes and Standards | Jan 29, 2019
Registration now open for LEED v4.1 for New Construction and Interior Spaces
Emphasizes human health and integrative building design.
Codes and Standards | Jan 25, 2019
AEC professionals should push for net zero projects
Educate and lead clients to more sustainable choices, says LEED fellow.
Codes and Standards | Jan 24, 2019
OSHA unaffected by federal government shutdown
Agency fully funded for first nine months of 2019.
Codes and Standards | Jan 23, 2019
Hackers can easily take control of construction cranes
Potential for serious harm is real, say researchers.
Codes and Standards | Jan 22, 2019
Initiative will introduce open-source software for commercial and public building retrofits
Energy analysis tool will identify energy efficiency opportunities.
Codes and Standards | Jan 18, 2019
Texas city sues developer over changes in $1 billion mixed-use project
Revised plan eliminated 8-acre lagoon, trolley, show fountain, and reduced retail space.
Codes and Standards | Jan 17, 2019
First resilience benchmarks for U.S. communities released
Provides way to evaluate current state of resilience and guidance for areas of improvement.
Codes and Standards | Jan 16, 2019
California mass timber building competition kicks off January 15
Competition will award $500,000 in grants to teams who design innovative buildings.
Codes and Standards | Jan 15, 2019
Hazard mitigation provisions in codes save lives and protect property
New NIBS study finds that adopting 2018 Intl. Codes generate $11 benefit for every $1 invested.
Codes and Standards | Jan 10, 2019
Ontario building first to achieve zero-carbon designation by Canada GBC
Geothermal heating, living wall among notable features.